S. Korea's national debt hit W486t in Nov.

South Korea's national debt came to 486.4 trillion won ($458.9 billion) as of the end of November, slightly more than the 2013 annual forecast made earlier, a government report showed Sunday.According to the monthly financial report from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the national debt increased from 443.1 trillion won tallied at the end of 2012.The November tally is slightly more than the 480.3 trillion won projected earlier by the government, but ministry officials said the year-end tal

Feb. 16, 2014

S. Korea seeks to enhance trade ties with Iran

South Korea plans to send a delegation of business and trade representatives to Iran to expand its bilateral trade with the Middle East country, the government said Sunday.According to the finance ministry, a business delegation organized by the Korea International Trade Association plans to visit Tehran and express Seoul's wish to increase trade relations.The move comes as other nations rush to Iran to seize business opportunities with a country that has been cut off from the international comm

Feb. 16, 2014

Over 20 firms face delisting due to capital erosion, irregularities

More than 20 companies may be delisted for capital erosion or illegal activities including corruption, analysts here said Sunday, as the deadline approaches for audit reports.According to the Korea Exchange, at least 22 firms, including 14 listed in the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, may be delisted. Analysts say the number may increase following the March 31 deadline for the audit reports.JS Cable, an affiliate of LS Group, is voluntarily seeking an exit as it has been suspended for supplying substa

Feb. 16, 2014

Watchdog to speed up probe into builder's accounting fraud suspicion

South Korea's financial watchdog is stepping up its probe into Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co.'s alleged accounting fraud and may expand its inspection into its largest shareholder, the Korea Development Bank (KDB), depending on the outcomes, industry sources said Friday.   Daewoo Engineering has been under an audit review by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on accounting fraud charges based on a tip-off it received last year.The builder was originally affiliated with the now-defunc

Feb. 14, 2014

Public sector reform should prioitize large firms

President Park Geun-hye said Friday that the country’s push to reform debt-ridden public firms should first focus on making “visible” progress at larger institutions as they are responsible for more than 80 percent of the total debts at public organizations.The remark marked the second time in less than a week that Park has talked about the need for public sector reform after she warned Monday of stern responses to any labor attempts to derail the campaign. This shows how committed she is to the

Feb. 14, 2014

3 card firms face suspension for data leak

South Korea's financial regulator said Friday that three card firms will have their businesses suspended for three months starting next week as punishment for a recent massive data breach.Last month, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) revealed that some 20 million clients' personal data, including bank account numbers, addresses and credit ratings, had been leaked from three credit card firms -- KB Kookmin, NH Nonghyup and Lotte. There was also a breach at a bank that shared its customer da

Feb. 14, 2014

Business awards aspire to become stepping stone for SMEs

Companies dream of becoming a global brand, but for small and mid-sized firms, that dream may be more difficult to fulfill. One shortcut for building a globally recognized brand is to win world-renowned business awards. “(Winning) international awards can be used as a great tool to build a strong brand,” said Michael Gallagher, the founder and president of the Stevie Awards, during a press conference in Seoul on Thursday. “A business award win or participation can have a greater impact on the gr

Feb. 13, 2014

Korean banks’ profits decline by more than half

South Korean lenders saw their profit sink more than 50 percent last year as they suffered a decline in interest income and set aside more reserves against bad loans, the financial regulator said Thursday.The combined net income of 18 local banks, including market leaders Woori and Kookmin, reached 4 trillion won ($3.77 billion) in 2013, down from the 8.7 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Local banks’ profit has been rising, reaching 11.8 trillion won

Feb. 13, 2014

S. Korea's tax agency aims to collect 14.7 tln won more this year

South Korea's tax agency said Thursday that it aims to collect 14.7 trillion won ($13.8 billion) more in taxes this year than last year amid the government's ongoing efforts to expand its revenue base.In a plan submitted to lawmakers, the National Tax Service set its goal at a total of 204.9 trillion won worth of national taxes including income, corporate and value-added taxes this year.This is 7.7 percent, or 14.7 trillion won, more than the 190.2 trillion won the NTS brought in last year, the

Feb. 13, 2014

BOK freezes key rate for 9th straight month for Feb.

South Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate for the ninth consecutive month on Thursday amid caution against emerging market unrest sparked by the U.S. monetary stimulus cut.Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his six fellow policymakers held the benchmark seven-day repo rate, called the base rate, at 2.5 percent, as widely expected.The BOK said that it will pay close attention to developments in external risk factors such as shifts in major countries' monetary policies and market u

Feb. 13, 2014

Fed stresses Korean currency’s resilience

South Korea’s currency has been “more resilient” than that of other emerging countries to global financial volatility prompted by U.S. tapering of its stimulus program, a U.S. Federal Reserve report showed Wednesday.In the Monetary Policy Report submitted to Congress on Tuesday (local time), the Fed analyzed the financial stress and vulnerabilities of 15 emerging market economies and provided the “vulnerability index” for each country.The index is based on such major data as current account, nat

Feb. 12, 2014

Hyun vows to make Korea more investor-friendly

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok on Wednesday reiterated the incumbent administration’s vision for giving foreign investors the confidence to invest in Korea. “To echo President Park Geun-hye, the government will turn Korea into the world’s most investor-friendly market,” Hyun said in a meeting with major foreign companies and business lobby groups held at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul. In particular, he predicted that the Korean market can offer more opportunities for for

Feb. 12, 2014

Regulator reports Tong Yang chief for stock price rigging

South Korea’s financial regulator reported the head of the major conglomerate Tong Yang Group to the prosecution Wednesday for a criminal investigation into alleged stock price manipulation.According to the Financial Services Commission, Tong Yang Group chairman Hyun Jae-hyun and 12 executives of its affiliates are suspected of having released unconfirmed information on Tong Yang Cement & Energy Co. between 2012 and September 2013, sending the company share prices higher.Through the stock price

Feb. 12, 2014

Korea's money supply growth hits 10-month high in December

South Korea's money supply grew at the fastest pace in 10 months in December due to an increase in bank lending, the central bank said Wednesday.South Korea's M2, a narrow measure of the money supply, rose 5.3 percent to 1,932 trillion won ($1.812 trillion) in December from a year earlier, accelerating from a 5.1 percent on-year gain in November, according to the Bank of Korea.It marked the fastest on-year gain since February of last year when the money supply grew an identical 5.3 percent.On a

Feb. 12, 2014

Fewer tax investigations mulled despite state revenue shortage

The Finance Ministry said Monday that tax authorities were considering easing probes on conglomerates and other major enterprises to communicate the Park Geun-hye administration’s determination to spur the economy this year with their help. Such policy moves, however, are likely to pose a dilemma and even invite backlash among some lawmakers as the government is already operating at a deficit. According to data released by the Finance Ministry, central government tax revenue stood at 201.9 trill

Feb. 10, 2014

Seoul shares end nearly flat on weak investor sentiment

South Korean stocks closed slightly higher on Monday thanks to gains in blue chips, even though investors took to the sidelines on jitters over the U.S. economy.The South Korean won gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.04 percent, or 0.80 points, to 1923.30. Trading volume on the main market came to 205.33 million shares worth 3.15 trillion won ($2.9 billion), with advancers outnumbering decliners 456 to 356.The market started higher on last week’

Feb. 10, 2014

KB, NH, Lotte card firms to see 40% fall in profits

Three major credit card businesses are expected to see a sharp drop in earnings this year due largely to a recent massive data breach that involved up to 20 million of their customers nationwide, according to market insiders.The net profit of the three involved credit card firms ― KB Kookmin, NH NongHyup and Lotte Card ― will be hurt “significantly” as they face a drop in customers as well as disciplinary actions from regulators, the sources said. Analysts now predict that the companies’ combine

Feb. 10, 2014